Bishop Sean Patrick O'Malley, the 59-year-old Capuchin friar thrust into
the national spotlight by his appointment as archbishop of Boston, introduced
himself yesterday to a wounded archdiocese with an apology for the harm
done to young people by sexual abuse, a plea for priests to pull together,
and a dramatic pledge to settle the hundreds of lawsuits pending against
the local church.

''People's lives are more important than money,'' O'Malley told a packed
news conference at St. John's Seminary in Brighton.

O'Malley's first day as archbishop-elect was filled with the symbols
of his priorities, beginning with Mass and ending with a visit to the
sick at Caritas St. Elizabeth's Medical Center. In between came a press
conference at which he addressed himself directly to priests, laypeople,
and disenfranchised Catholics and a private meeting with a dozen people
harmed by clergy sexual abuse.

Late yesterday, he left Boston for Washington, D.C., en route to Palm
Beach, Fla. where he has been serving as bishop. He made it clear that
he intends to act swiftly upon his installation as archbishop, which will
take place some time within the next 60 days.

''As the church is wracked by scandal and crisis, the stakes are very
high,'' he said. ''I appeal to all Catholics to help the church to be
a wounded healer by healing the divisions in our own ranks, so that we
can be a leaven for good in the society in which we live.''

O'Malley's appointment, announced by the Vatican at 6 a.m. EDT yesterday,
was hailed by many who have invested in him their hopes for an end to
the crisis that is roiling an archdiocese once best known for its history
and influence, but now world famous for a legacy of abuse.

But his honeymoon may be short. Yesterday a handful of protesters gathered
outside the seminary grounds, on Commonwealth Avenue, expressing skepticism
about O'Malley's record and independence. Leaders of the lay group Voice
of the Faithful welcomed him, but said they want to see change soon.

Upon his installation, O'Malley will become the sixth archbishop of Boston.
Never has one begun his work under such difficult conditions. In addition
to the hundreds of legal claims by alleged victims and the unresolved
issue of what to do with two dozen accused priests, the archdiocese faces
the prospect of closing schools and parishes in the face of declining
participation in Mass, a shrinking number of priests, and a dramatic plunge
in fund-raising as a result of both the weak economy and the abuse crisis.

O'Malley replaces Bishop Richard G. Lennon, who has been serving as administrator
of the Archdiocese of Boston since Cardinal Bernard F. Law resigned in
December over criticism of his failure to remove abusive priests from
ministry.

Lennon will continue to serve as administrator until O'Malley's installation.
He will then return to his post as an auxiliary bishop, but he is likely
to be a candidate for bishop in another diocese. Law is living at a convent
in Maryland and remains a member of the College of Cardinals in Rome,
serving on Vatican committees. He is entitled to vote in the next election
for pope.

O'Malley referred to this moment in archdiocesan history as ''this very
difficult time'' and said of his own career that ''the path has never
been easy, but today it seems overwhelming.''

''The devastating effects of the sexual exploitation of minors by members
of the clergy have wounded us all, beginning with the victims themselves
and their families, who suffer the poisonous aftermath of abuse,'' he
said. ''The entire church feels the pain of this scandal, and longs for
some relief for the families and communities that have been so shaken
by these sad events, and by the mishandling of these situations on the
part of the church's officials.''

O'Malley is no stranger to this type of crisis. In 1992, he was appointed
bishop of Fall River to repair a diocese reeling from revelations that
the Rev. James R. Porter was a serial pedophile. And just last fall he
was appointed bishop of Palm Beach after the two previous bishops quit
because of allegations that they themselves had molested minors.

Yesterday, O'Malley said he would make child protection ''our paramount
goal.'' He offered no specific solutions, saying he still needs to acquaint
himself with the situation in Boston and that he planned to listen closely
to ''bishops, priests, parish councils and lay leaders.''

O'Malley helped broker settlements in Fall River with a plaintiffs' lawyer,
Roderick MacLeish Jr., who now represents many alleged Boston victims.
The archbishop-elect said, ''We are all anxious for the financial settlements
with those who have suffered from sexual abuse.'' He noted, in what might
have been seen as a warning to Boston's insurance carriers, that in Fall
River he had sued his diocesan insurance company to get money to pay victims.

''I have always told diocesan lawyers in the past that settlements are
not hush money or extortion or anything other than the rightful indemnification
of persons who have suffered gravely at the hands of a priest,'' he said.
''Even when I have been told that there is no legal obligation, I have
always said, if there is a moral obligation, then we must step up to the
plate.''

Lawyers representing alleged victims were hopeful but wary.

''We've now heard speeches from Bernard Cardinal Law, from Bishop Lennon,
and from Bishop O'Malley, and nothing has happened yet,'' said Mitchell
Garabedian, who represents more than 100 people with claims against the
archdiocese. ''But my clients are cautiously optimistic.''

O'Malley acknowledged that the stakes in Boston are high, calling the
number of alleged victims and the potential cost of settlements ''staggering''
and said he also wants to protect ''the essential elements of our mission,
especially our mission to give people the good news of the Gospel and
to serve the poor, the sick, and the marginalized.''

In an apparent effort to show what he meant, O'Malley met in the afternoon
with a group chosen by the archdiocesan office that handles outreach to
those who allege they have been abused by clergy.

''In a very short period of time he listened to a lot of heart-wrenching
stories, and it affected him,'' said Rodney Ford, the father of an alleged
victim of abuse by Rev. Paul R. Shanley. ''You could tell it affected
him, just by the emotions in his face. You can read someone's face and
really get a sense of how someone's feeling. He showed it on his face.''

Some who attended the meeting said that O'Malley had apologized to them
and had prayed, reciting the ''Our Father'' with the group.

''He's only been here a couple of hours, and he's already talking with
the victims,'' said David Lyko, 44, of Dracut, an alleged victim of the
Rev. Joseph Birmingham. ''If he makes some changes, I'll be in the first
pew, and I know I won't be alone.''

After that meeting, O'Malley went to St. Elizabeth's Medical Center in
Brighton, where he wanted to visit an ailing friend, but also visited
others.

''He just made me feel so great,'' said Maureen Iannoni, a mother of
four from Walpole who is undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer. Iannoni
said that she knew the archbishop-elect from his days in Fall River and
that she wholeheartedly supported his appointment here.

''I think it will be good for people who are looking for healing in the
church,'' she said. ''He's wonderful.''

O'Malley's appointment was hailed by Catholic and Protestant religious
leaders around the state.

''His experience, good judgment, and effectiveness in dealing with the
present problems in the church will be a great asset to the archdiocese,''
Bishop Daniel P. Reilly of Worcester declared in a statement, while Bishop
Thomas L. Dupre of Springfield said ''I am sure Bishop O'Malley will bring
to Boston the talents needed to guide that great archdiocese and help
bring healing to all its people, especially the victims of misconduct.''

Law, whose downfall made possible O'Malley's elevation, issued a brief
statement of congratulations, saying ''my prayers are with the new archbishop,
and with the archdiocese.''

Other religious leaders in the state, many of whom have expressed sorrow
at the crisis in the Archdiocese of Boston and concern that it is affecting
the credibility of all Christian denominations, welcomed O'Malley back
to Massachusetts.

''The appointment of Bishop Sean Patrick O'Malley as the new archbishop
of Boston is good news for the Roman Catholic community and good news
for all of the religious communities of our city,'' said Bishop M. Thomas
Shaw, the head of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts.

O'Malley addressed himself directly to priests during the press conference,
which was broadcast live on local television and radio.

''I know the toll that the pain and embarrassment of the scandal has
taken on your ministry,'' he said to priests and seminarians. ''I ask
you to pull together. ... Your role is essential in the life of our church.
... The whole Catholic community wants holy priests, happy priests, hard-working
priests.''

O'Malley laid the blame for the abuse crisis at the feet of church officials
who did not understand the impact of sexual abuse on children.

''There was not an awareness in the past of the profound damage done
to victims,'' he said. ''I think if people had realized that, they would
have taken this problem much more seriously. But I think they saw it as
a moral problem and not as a sickness or a compulsion on the part of the
predators. And, as I say, I don't think there was even any inkling of
how devastating such an experience is for a child.''

His comments were well received by priests, many of whom watched O'Malley
on television.

''I liked what I heard,'' said the Rev. Peter Casey, pastor of St. Agatha
Church in Milton. ''Bishop O'Malley seems to be straightforward. ... I
believe he will listen to all, and I believe he is open-minded.''

The Rev. Randy Sachs, academic dean at Weston Jesuit School of Theology,
also watched O'Malley on television, and said: ''He strikes me as a very
genuine and sincere man, not arrogant or self-important. If he is truly
approachable and open to the laity and to the priests and lay ministers
of the diocese, his appointment will be the answer to many heartfelt prayers.''

Even some priests who didn't see the broadcast expressed relief at the
end of uncertainty and the promise of change.

''What I'm experiencing personally, in my parish community, and among
priest friends is a sense of relief that the guessing games are over,
a new reason to hope that serious and painful issues might be resolved,
a willingness to step forward with this new man and work with him,'' said
the Rev. Austin Fleming, pastor of Our Lady Help of Christians Parish
in Concord.

O'Malley also addressed disenfranchised Catholics, saying, ''At times
like these, we need to pull together as a church.

''The Catholic faith and practice has built a culture in our people of
New England, [sustaining] virtues of honesty, solidarity, social justice,
service to the poor, the sick, the suffering, protection for the weak,
for the unborn,'' he said.

O'Malley, who is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese, answered two questions
in Spanish, expressing his enthusiasm about working with immigrants and
asking for the support of Hispanics.

Globe correspondents Nicole Fuller and Donovan Slack and Michael Rezendes
and Monica Rhor of the Globe Staff contributed to this report.